Friends & Fame
by Dion-Jade 25
Summary: Calvin Thompson is the new kid from Chicago to East Orange, New Jersey. Making friends is harder than Calvin thought- until he becomes fast friends with his next door neighbor... A girl who's name was Whitney Houston. From childhood, Whitney's red hot music career and everything in between, Calvin and Whitney try to keep it together and remain best friends until the end. NON KEVNEY
1. Chapter 1

(February 11, 2012)

_"__Eh, Calvin….man, are you sitting down?"_

_I was busy getting ready for a flight. I was going to take my children to my parent's house in Jersey the next day and we were all going to spend a few days together. Then I had some unfinished business to take care of with a very special person in my life. My future was finally starting to look bright again and God was setting me up for something great._

_I immediately stopped looking for my suitcase in my closet once I answered and heard my older brother Brian's shaky voice on the other end of my cell phone. He sounded extremely upset and was breathing kind of heavy. _

_"__No, why would I need to sit down for? What's going on? Is it mom or pops man? Are they alright?" The worst thoughts were popping up in my head about my parents' wellbeing because they were both getting up in age._

_"__No, it ain't mom and pops Calvin….." he seemed to be hesitant to say anything else. I took heed and sat down on my King-sized bed. "Brian, I ain't got time for the guessing games, so you need to tell me what news you have." Brian let out a deep, shaky sigh as I held my breath in to anticipate what was next. "It's Nip man. Whitney, Calvin. I just got word that they found her in her hotel room….." "What?" I asked. "What do you mean they FOUND her in her hotel? I mean, is she okay? Is she in the hospital?" My heart began to pound out of my chest. Brian's silence quickly began to say it all. "Are you telling me that Whitney's dead? Huh?! Is that what you are telling me?"_

_"__Yeah Calvin. They found her unresponsive in the bathroom. She didn't come out of whatever happened to her." I immediately turned on the television and turned it to CNN. Lo and behold, Don Lemon anchored the news that world superstar Whitney Houston had died at the age of 48 years old and that the cause was unknown at the moment. I sat as disbelief, shock and denial crept inside of me. "Naw man, naw this can't be true. I just talked to her yesterday. I just talked to her yesterday," I kept repeating. "I'm so sorry man, I'll be over there in a few." Brian sounded like he was about to break down before he hung up with me. I immediately dialed Mother Cissy's number and some other family members, but there was no response. I then dialed and texted Bobbi Kristina with no avail either; she almost always answered or responded to me. _

_I then knew something was gravely wrong. And that CNN, or my brother's information were not the usual rumors that swirled around Whitney's life._

_My best friend of 40 years was dead and I had no idea why. Worst of all, I wasn't there to do something about it._

_I don't remember what happened next, as I allowed myself to fade to black._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1:

(September 1972)

My name is Calvin Thompson and I just turned nine years old.

I'm not sure why, but my family just moved to a new place that's really far away from where we are from, which is Chicago. It's called East Orange, New Jersey. Pssshhh! What kinda name is that for a place?

One day my daddy sat down and just told me, my big brother Brian and my little sister Lydia that he was offered a better job in this East Orange place and that it would be good for all of us to move since he and mommy had family on the east coast. My sister didn't seem to care, but what do expect from a five -year –old kid? Me and my brother were upset. We told our mom and dad that we liked our friends and our school and our house and that we didn't wanna leave. But they told us that we didn't have a choice and that it would be fun to start over in a new place. So that was that. We had to say goodbye to everybody and in about a month, we moved to this faraway place where we don't know anybody.

As we rolled up in our new neighborhood, I was disappointed that I didn't at least see any oranges all over. I mean, this place is called East Orange, right?!

Anyways, our street, Dodd Street, looked nice enough. There were some nice houses and stuff, but it wasn't like our neighborhood in Chicago. That was the best place to be and I know nothing will EVER compare to it.

"Well here it is y'all! Our new home." My daddy said all excited. I had to admit that our house was REAL nice, much nicer than our old house. It kinda looked like the Brady Bunch house, except smaller. Mommy had a big smile on her face. "And boys, there's a basketball court in the backyard. It's all ours." Brian's eyes got big really quick. He loved to play sports and basketball was his favorite. "Our very own basketball court? I gotta see it to believe it!" My parents laughed as we got out and went into our new home. Dad looked real happy taking the "SOLD" sign out of the front yard.

Our new house was roomy. I had my own room and didn't have to share with Brian anymore, which meant that I finally got to put up all of the posters that I wanted without getting beat up by him. We had a basement that dad said he would make a family room out of. And sure enough, we had a basketball court in our big backyard! Brian said that he would always be out there and dad told him that he would help us practice our basketball skills.

Whether I want it to happen or not, I know that we are stuck here. Mom and dad were happy, so there was no chance of us going back to Chicago. I'll at least admit that our house was not a bad place to live. I just hope that I can quickly make some new friends…..


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2:

It had been three days in this new place and I still ain't got no friends!

Mom and Dad told me to be patient, that there were plenty of kids in our new neighborhood. Or maybe I would meet some friends once school started next week. Either way, I was growing impatient. Of course, Brian already started making new friends. All he had to do was stand outside, bounce a basketball around and a few kids came over. They asked him to play and didn't even invite me. Why do eleven-year-old kids always seem have it so easy?

I sat outside by myself, watching kids play. Nobody asked me once to join in, so I went back in the house.

Man, I hate this place!

A few minutes later, our doorbell rang. My mom went to answer it, running her fingers through her hair before opening the door as she always did. "Hello. My name is Cissy Houston and this is my daughter Whitney. We just wanted to welcome you and your family into the neighborhood," said a nice looking lady. She held a plate of cookies out. "This is just a little something to hopefully help the unpacking go easier." The girl looked to be my age and seemed to be hiding behind her mother. She finally peeked out to look at us like she was shy or something. "Oh my goodness, thank you so much! You shouldn't have went through all of this trouble," my mother told her as she took the plate and shook the lady's hand. "My name is Darlene Thompson. My husband Carl is at his new job; we just moved here from Chicago. Please come in and excuse the mess as we still haven't quite settled in yet."

After they came in, my mother introduced me and Lydia and told them that Brian was outside playing. "Oh yes, I think my son Michael was telling us that he met a new friend that was right next door." Cissy Houston said. "Yes, Brian was telling us the exact same thing!" mom said laughing. "Well my husband John and I are always having kids come over to swim in our backyard. So your kids are welcome to come when we do so." Cissy Houston said. "That's very kind of you all, isn't it Calvin?" my mom asked as she put her arm around me. "Yes maim, thank you." I made myself say. My parents didn't play when it came to manners, so I knew I had to be polite. Cissy turned to her daughter and pulled her next to her. "Nippy, where are your manners? You didn't even say hello." The girl gave a small smile and said "Good Afternoon". She was a very nice looking kid, I had to admit (because girls have cooties). She had two big curly pigtails, a plaid-looking dress with stockings and sparkly brown eyes that looked like almonds or something. Her skin reminded me of a smooth graham cracker, which was different from my skin which looked like a smooth Hershey bar.

"Calvin, put these up in the kitchen. We can't wait to eat them," mom told me with a smile on her face. My mom and Cissy Houston started talking and mom took her to show off the rest of the house. My little sister ran in behind them, probably being nosy as usual. I looked at the girl, not sure what to say. "Uh… you wanna come in the kitchen?" She humped her shoulders up and down, said sure and followed me. "So…. Are these cookies good?" I asked. "Yeah, they're my favorite," the girl said eyeing the plate. "Mommy wouldn't let me have any this time. Said that they were for y'all." I grabbed a couple of cups and poured some milk in them. "Let's have some; I'm sure my mom won't mind." My mom was always harping about good hospitality, or whatever. And I agree…especially if cookies are involved.

"So is your name Whitney, or Nippy?" I asked between bites of the delicious cookie. "Because your mom called you both." "My real name is Whitney Elizabeth, but my family calls me Nippy most of the time." She said. "Oh" I said trying not to laugh at her funny nickname. "Why do they call you Nippy?" "I don't know," she said. "My dad said he got it from this person in a comic that kept getting into stuff he had no business getting into. And that's what my family says I do sometimes."

"Do you have a nickname?" I shook my head no. "Not really. I'm just known as Calvin. My whole name is Calvin Darnell Thompson." I stuck my chest out. "Oh I see" Whitney said like she was in deep thought about what I just told her. "So do you like it here?" "Not really," I told her. "I mean, I like our new house and stuff, but I miss my friends back in Chicago." "Yeah, I saw you sitting outside earlier. I wanted to say something to you, but I didn't know if you wanted to talk to anybody." "Really?" I asked, kind of embarrassed. "I probably looked like a dope because no one wanted to play with me."

"Everybody is pretty nice here, but I know how you feel though. You should come over to swim tomorrow. A lot of my brother's friends come and we play games like Marco Polo. Plus, I'll bet my daddy is gonna grill up some hot doggies like he always does!" "Oooohh Yum! I love hot dogs. Okay, I'm sure my mom will let me." I told her.

We soon found out that we had some things in common. We both just turned 9 years old. Our birthdays were both in August (hers was August 9th and mines was August 7th). Both of our families had two boys and one girl. We both liked Math, English and Science and we both liked "The Brady Bunch", Cartoons and The Jackson Five (she kept saying that she was gonna marry Michael). She also told me that her mom was a famous backup singer and sang for people like Elvis and her Godmother Aretha Franklin. I didn't believe her at first, but she said she would show me pictures and play records one day, so I thought that was cool. She also said that I could maybe one day meet her cousin Dionne Warwick, the famous singer. She told me that she loved to sing, and wanted to be like her mom and cousin, in case she didn't get to become a teacher or a veterinarian. I told her I didn't know what I really wanted to be when I grew up, but I liked helping people and learning about the body, so I probably would be a doctor. She told me how much she liked being with her big brothers and I told her that although my little sister annoyed me sometimes, I loved her. I also told her that I admired Brian's sport skills, but I didn't want to let him know that.

This Whitney kid wasn't so bad at all. I never had a girl for a friend, but I think she can be the exception because she was interesting and I felt like I could just say whatever I thought to her. Besides she likes boy stuff, like riding bikes, running races and playing sports.

When dad came home and we had dinner that night, my mom kept talking about how nice Mrs. Houston and her family were. My dad was especially interested in hearing how Cissy sang backup for all of those famous singers. He said he would invite Mr. Houston over for a beer soon enough.

I guess living here may not be so bad after all. Maybe.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3:

(A Week Later)

"Bye boys, have a great first day!" My mom told me and Brian after she gave us our lunches and a kiss on the cheek (I'm glad she did it in the house!). My dad had talked to us before going to work, telling us to be ourselves and that Thompsons can do anything they put their minds to. I'm not gonna lie, I'm nervous as heck! It is a whole new school with new teachers so I am not sure if I am gonna be on top of the class like I was at my old school.

Fortunately, we would be walking to school with our next door neighbors and new friends.

"Bye Mom!" we called out. I looked over at Brian and as usual he looked like he didn't have a care in the world. But I just know deep down inside, he had to be just as nervous as I was. I mean, he didn't know if these kids in East Orange can play basketball better than in Chicago and I know that he wanted to stay on top.

Just as we approached their house, Michael and Whitney called out goodbye to their parents and met us at the sidewalk. Michael and Brian led the way and Whitney and I followed closely behind. "So ya nervous?" Whitney asked, liked she could read my mind. "Yeah." I admitted. "Don't be nervous Calvin. You are a nice kid, so they will like you." "Thanks," I said feeling a little better. "They will like you better than me, that's for sure….."

What did she mean by that? I would think that a nice kid with a popular family would be liked by everybody. "What do you mean?" I finally asked. "Kids like you right?" Whitney hung her head. "Not really. The girls say I think I'm better than them because I got light skin, long hair and dress up like a doll." I gave her a confused look. In the past week of being around her, I didn't think she acted like she was better than people. "Why do they say that for?" She humped her shoulders. "I don't know. My brothers sometimes have to tell them to leave me alone or they will beat them up. But they still say stuff or do stuff sometimes though. Mommy tells me that I need to learn how to stick up for myself, because not everyone wants to be my friend and that they need to at least respect me." "Wow!" I said. I never saw girls get bullied much, especially for no reason. "That's not fair." She told me about some of the stuff the girls did to her last school year, like take her glasses and a ring that Dionne Warwick gave her. I couldn't believe that girls could be mean. I thought they were supposed to be made of sugar and spice and everything nice?

When we made it to school, we had to push through the crowds of kids to check the paper so we could see who our teacher would be. Thank God, Brian got the same teacher as Michael and I got the same teacher as Whitney. I would have someone I already know in my new class. By the look on her face, it looked like Whitney was happy too.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 4:

"Sit next to me, 'Kay?" Whitney asked as she took a seat in the middle of class. Of course I wasn't gonna say no; she was the only person I knew. As we started to open up our notebooks, I heard one of the girls in our class whisper loudly to another girl "Ugh, we gotta be in class with Miss Prissy again!" the other girl nodded. "She never says nothing. I bet she still thinks she's better than all of us!"

I looked over at Whitney, wondering if she heard what they said. By the way she looked down at her notebook to write on it, I think she did. "Hey Prissy Houston!" one of the girls said, tapping Whitney on the shoulder. She looked like she had ate one Honey Bun too many, because she was big. Whitney ignored her, continuing to write her name on her new notebook. "You heard her light bright!" yelled the other girl with the nappy hair and buck teeth. Whitney finally turned around to look at them. "Leave me alone!" she yelled. "Girl, who you thank you talking to?" the fat girl said. "Just you wait, I'ma beat you little scrawny tail up! I see nothing has changed over the summer; you still thank you too good to say something to people." "OOOOOOOHHH" the rest of the class said, egging it on. Whitney shook her head, looking kinda scared. "No I don't. Y'all are always messing with me and I haven't even done anything to you."

I kept watching them go back and forth, my head going side to side like a tennis ball. Now I know she wasn't lying about the kids being mean to her. I mean class hasn't even started and they were already ganging up on her.

Just as it was about to get really ugly, our teacher stepped into the classroom. "Good morning boys and girls and welcome to the 4th grade!" The older looking black lady said; everybody scrambled to their seats and straightened up. "My name is Mrs. Williams and I will be your teacher this year." "Good morning Mrs. Williams," we all replied back. Now before we get into class rules and first day information, I want you all to stand up and introduce yourselves so we can all be acquainted with one another." Everyone who stood up had to say their name, favorite color and what they like to do for fun.

When it came to Whitney, she stood up like she didn't really want to. By all the teasing she had already been through, I didn't really blame her. "My name is Whitney. Um, my favorite color is purple and for fun um…. I really like to sing." "Girl, I bet you can't sing, stop lying!" another kid called out and everyone (except me) started to laugh. Whitney stuck out her tongue at him, quickly sat down, and looked down at her desk. "That's enough class. We won't be mean to each other in here." Mrs. Williams told them over the giggles.

She pointed at me to go next and I stood up. Everyone gave me a weird look, probably because they never seen me before and maybe because I was what was considered real tall for my age. "My name is Calvin and I just moved here from Chicago. I guess my favorite color is blue and for fun, I like to play sports, eat and read books." The same boy snickered. "Read? Who reads for fun? I bet he's a nerd and a punk." I turned to look at him, my old Southside Chicago neighborhood creeping in. I know that he was trying to see how tough I was. "I also am really good at boxing and wrestling, so I would like to challenge you to either one." "Oooohhh" the class said again. The boy looked at me like he was going to do something to me. He must've looked at my face and height though, because he backed down and just said 'man whatever'. I may like books, but as boys, my dad always tells us to stick up for ourselves and don't let nobody punk us (or our little sister) around. Mrs. Williams yawned, looking like she was already bored with us. "Settle down children." As I sat back down, Whitney looked over at me and we both smirked at each other. She had never seen me act like that with anyone until now, so it had to be a little funny. I'm just glad that it was with someone that was being mean to her. She didn't deserve to be treated like that.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 5:

The rest of the day was pretty good. I soon learned that I would not have any trouble being on top of my school work and that I would really love 4th grade science. As far as my classmates, I think everyone looked at me different, especially after what I said to that kid. I don't think I would have any problems with them messing with me. Me and Whitney stuck together a lot that day, eating lunch at the same table and playing outside. When a bunch of kids asked me to play tag, I told them that I would only play if she could too. And when we started to work on a class project, we quickly chose each other to be partners on it. It was nice having a friend already in class.

"How was y'alls first day?" Michael asked us as we all walked home. "It was fine. I liked it for the most part." I said. "It was okay." Whitney said. "Did anybody mess with you today?" Michael asked. He made a fist and hit his other hand with it. "'Cause, I don't care what mom says, I'll fight a girl if I have to!" "I would too, if that was my little sis Lydia." Brian chimed in. Whitney shook her head. "No, they only did at first. But Calvin was there so no one messed with me much." "Good looking out for my sis little man." Michael told me as we gave each other high fives. Brian nodded his head in approval. Once we made it to our houses, Whitney asked if it would be alright to come eat a snack with her at her house. I told her I would once I asked my mom.

After we got permission from our parents, Mrs. Houston asked us how our first day was (and the same questions that Michael asked about the kids). She looked relived to find out that no one messed with Whitney much after the start of class and gave us some banana pudding while we watched cartoons. After we kept giggling at the episode and a commercial came on, Whitney turned to me. "Thanks Calvin, for being my friend all day today. It felt nice to have someone to be around and talk to at school." I humped my shoulders. "You're welcome. Thanks for being the first person to be nice to me here. You're not so bad…even for a girrrl with cooties!" Whitney laughed and lightly pushed me. "Shut up rock head!" We kept on laughing and talking until Scooby Doo came back on television.

I decided that nothing would stop me from being Whitney's friend no matter what. She was a nice, fun kid that was misunderstood by our stupid classmates.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 6:

(1975)

The cafeteria at Franklin Elementary school was noisy as ever, but this was always the best part of the day. Starving, I grabbed a plate of spaghetti, green beans, some fruit , pudding and a carton of milk. "Cal, over here!" I turned to see who was calling me and it was my best friend, Whitney Houston. She had brought her lunch that day, so she was able to save us some seats. As I walked over to my table, I ran into Keisha Taylor, one of the prettiest girls in our 6th grade class. We would wave to each other sometimes in the hallway because she was in a different class than me. "Hey Calvin," she told me. "Hey Keisha." I said after clearing my throat. "Whatcha doin'?" she asked. "Um, just about to eat." I hoped I didn't sound stupid by stating the obvious… you know, since it was lunchtime in a cafeteria. "Oh," she said looking at her own tray. "So I was just wondering… do you wanna eat with me and my friends today? There's room for one more." I looked over at Whitney who was taking out her sandwich and happened to look up at us. "Well I would but, I can't. I always eat with my friends." "Oh." She said again, looking over at her.

She shifted her weight. "Can I ask you something?" "Go ahead," I told her. "Do you like Whitney like a girlfriend or something? Y'all are always around each other." I shook my head. "No we aren't girlfriend and boyfriend. We're just best friends and neighbors. She's just a really cool person to hang with." "Well, she never says anything to us!" Keisha huffed. "It's like she's a snob. I mean she's always just with you and the other guys." "She's not a snob, she's nice. She has her reasons why she doesn't talk to everyone. It's mainly because girls mess with her for no reason. I've seen it myself." I was getting tired of explaining to kids why me and Whitney were always hanging together. It was like it was weird for a girl and guy to be best friends and I didn't understand why.

"Okay, let's just drop it." Keisha said, breaking my thoughts. "I know that you are good in math and I was wondering if you would help me with my homework after school sometimes." "I think that should be fine. It would just have to be after my Science club meeting." I informed her. "That's fine. Well we can talk about it later, but I just thought I would ask. My friends are waiting on me." After we split up, I sat down across from Whitney.

"Whatcha got today?" I asked her, as usual. Whitney peaked at her sandwich. "Bologna and cheese, my favorite! And I've got some carrots, an apple and a brownie." My mouth literally watered at the sound of her mother's delicious brownie. "You know you are gonna have to share that with me!" Whitney gave me a look, which I called her "poker face". "Hmm…okay sure. But you know our deal. Nothing comes free, so let's start the bargain." I quickly slapped down a cup of Jell-O pudding. She gave me a crazy look. "You think some store-bought pudding is gonna make me give you some of this moist, chocolaty brownie? Don't think so." I thought hard before giving her my poker face. "Okay…. I'll help you finish up your Science project, but you gotta give me almost ALL of it." Whitney looked thoughtful while she tapped her fingers on the table. "You drive a hard bargain Thompson. Okay, I will do it ONLY if you give your pudding too." "Deal!" I quickly said and she broke off most of the brownie and I threw her the pudding. We both knew that it was a win-win, since I loved anything that had to do with science, or math for that matter. And as usual, we took each other's bait.

For almost three years, we had discovered almost everything about each other. When Whitney wasn't with her brothers Spikey (Michael) and sometimes Gary and I wasn't running after my brother and my little sister wasn't following me around, we stuck together. We went to school together, did our homework together, ate over each other's houses, and of course, played together. Although I had other friends, I instantly felt closest to Whitney and I think she felt the same with me. When something was bothering me, I would tell her and knew that all of my secrets were safe and that I wouldn't be judged. I tried to do the same for her. Whitney (or Whit as I called her) was a kinda shy and quiet person, especially around people she didn't know. But around me and her family, she could gab her head off! I didn't care most of the time though, because she would always say something to make us laugh for hours. And I felt comfortable enough around her to be a goof. Plus she did cool stuff, like introducing me to her cousin Dionne Warwick and always bringing me back a souvenir whenever she got to travel with her or her mom. But even without doing all of that, I still would be her friend.

In my opinion, Whitney was one of a kind and it was too bad that some of the kids didn't know it.

As we began to eat, Whitney let me in on some gossip. "I saw Keisha trying to get you to eat with her," she began. "You know she likes you right?" I almost choked on my milk. "She likes me?" I asked." I thought I would be the last person that she would like. She doesn't even know me." "Well, I heard her talking about you in the bathroom. She was telling her friends that you were soooo tall and soooo cute and smart and soooo mature compared to the other boys." "Me?" I asked, still in shock. "Yes Cal! I just wish she would see how you mature you REALLLLY are." "Ha, ha very funny. You really should be a comedian Whit." "Well my name isn't WHIT-ney for nothing," she said, opening her drink. "Anyways, I don't think you should hang too much with Keisha and her gang. They are what my mom calls, 'fast'." "My mom uses that word to describe girls who try and do things that adults do." I said. "She is fine though!" "I guess so." Whitney said, rolling her eyes. I often wondered if she sometimes compared herself to some of the girls at our school, like Keisha. I mean, I have to admit, Whitney is a very pretty girl herself. Her mother, Miss Cissy didn't play when it came to her looks at all times. She still made her wear dresses and kept her hair curled. Some of the girls still thought that she was stuck up because of how she dressed, and no matter what, it really bothered her.

One day, we walked to school and as usual, Whitney had on a blouse and a pleated skirt. "Wait here for a sec." she told me once we approached the school bathrooms. She went in, carrying her backpack and a few minutes later, she came out in a pair of jeans. "What happened to your skirt?" I asked, looking her up and down. She pointed to her backpack. "I'm tired of getting being called Prissy Houston. I wanna show everyone that I can wear jeans just like they do." "So what are you gonna do? Sneak clothes in your backpack every day?" I asked. Whitney humped her shoulders. "If I have to. And you can't tell anyone about this Cal, ok?" "What you wear ain't got nothing to do with me!" I told her. "I could care less with what you wear." Once she started doing this, I think it took the mean girls by surprise because finally, Whitney dressed down like them. They left her alone for a while, but they would find something else to tease her about, like her reading glasses. They would do it most when I wasn't around, like in our separate girls and boys gym classes. It got so bad that they started following her home after school, on days they knew I had Science Club so it would be easy to gang up on her. Whitney told me that she had to sometimes run home so they wouldn't mess with her . "There's no way I'm just gonna stand there and let those girls kick my butt!" she would say. One day though, Miss Cissy had had enough of them teasing her daughter. After coming up to the school a couple of times (and embarrassing Whitney to the core because she would raise a whole lot of cane when she was there), nothing wasn't being done fast enough.

One day I was getting over the Chickenpox and had missed my third day of school. My little sister Lydia came up to me while I was watching TV. "Calvin, Whitney is outside with a buncha girls and it looks like she's gonna put her dukes up!" I shook my head. "Stop making up stories Lydia." I knew how my sister could lie sometimes to get my attention. "No, Calvin I swear! Come look!" she grabbed me and pulled me outside on our porch. Lo and behold, Whitney was outside of her house, on her own porch with her mother, with a gang of girls surrounding them. "I want the baddest one of you to come over here because Whitney is going to fight you today." Mrs. Houston told them. Tina, the so called "biggest" bully of our class stepped towards Whitney. Mrs. Houston pushed her into Tina and Whitney surprised everyone by swigging hard at her. She looked angry and she took Tina down to the ground- literally! "Get her Whit! Get her!" I cheered, not caring if no one saw me still in my PJs. I knew that Whit could fight (I mean she hung around mainly boys and had two brothers), but it was time that everyone else knew it. After a few minutes of them going at it, Mrs. Houston needed me and Michael's help to tear the fight up. "I'ma get you, you stupid little bitch!" Tina yelled, grabbing her stuff looking all embarrassed. "Young lady, I think we saw what happened today and there will be no more fighting. And there are no bitches around here. Now I suggest you all head on home." Said Mrs. Houston. And that was the end of that.

Although Whitney was scared that her mother gave her the option of being whooped by her or by Tina, she was glad that she finally could show them she could fight. I was proud she did her thing too. Tina and her crew finally left her alone. They still didn't like her, but they found a new respect for her.


	8. Chapter 8

"Man, am I glad for the school year to be over!" I yelled as I sat down in Whitney's basement. "No more stupid little kids, we are moving on to middle school!" "Yeah, I guess." Whitney said without a care in the world. I looked over at her. "What's been eating your grape today? You should be glad it's all over now. Summer time is officially here!" "I have to tell you something Cal." She looked down at her hands. "Mommy and daddy are making me move to a different school. A private, Catholic school. Cal, we aren't even Catholic. You know we are Baptist!" I looked at her, surprised. "You're kidding right?" She shook her head. "And it's all girls too! Cal, you already know that a lot of girls don't usually like me. Only the ones at church. What am I gonna do without you?"

I became silent along with her as she leaned her head on my shoulder. I didn't want to lose going to middle school with my best friend either. But I didn't want to make her sadder than she was already feeling. "Well the good news is that we still are next door neighbors. So we at least can see each other as much as we want." Whitney pouted her lips. "But it still won't be the same." "Maybe it won't be so bad." I offered. "It's a new school, so you can actually start over with people who don't know you yet." "I guess you could be right." She muttered. I let out a deep sigh, as I knew I was about to do something I really didn't want to do; but I knew I had to sacrifice. "I'll even start going to practice with you, and MAYBE join the choir." I blubbered out. Whitney sat up and gave me an excited, yet surprised look. '"Really Cal? You will finally come to practice with me?" I nodded. "Yeah, maybe."

Recently, Whitney had been attending church at New Hope Baptist, where her mother was head choir director. Because of that, Miss Cissy strongly suggested that Whitney joined the choir. To every one's surprise, they found out that Whitney could sing her little butt off and was about to take over some song leads. She had clearly inherited her musical gift from her mother and had the voice of a grown up. It wasn't until recently that Whit had started to sing in front of me; it was like she was hiding the fact that she could sing. I knew before that she could when we would sing songs from the radio and stuff, but when I would stop to hear her voice, she would get all shy and stop. One time, I had come over to visit her and Miss Cissy asked if I wanted to see something special, but funny. Of course I said yes, so we snuck to the top of the basement, where Whitney was singing with her mop to Gladys Knight & The Pips' "Midnight Train to Georgia." _He's leavin' onnnnnn that Midnight Train to Georgiaaaaaaaaaaaa_ she belted out the chorus into the mop, sounding as clear as a bell. _I've got to go, I'vvveeee got to go, ooohhhh yyyeeeeaahhh. I've got to goooo, I've got to gooooooo._ As soon as she hit the last note, she looked up and saw her beaming mom and me with my mouth open and immediately covered up her face in embarrassment. "Whit, that was really good!" I exclaimed. "Why don't you sing more often, like in public? You could get paid big bucks!" In my opinion, she should be on Soul Train or American Bandstand with a record contract with Motown with the kinda voice she had. Whitney humped her shoulders. "I'on know" was all she offered. "I don't know about getting' paid yet, but she sure is about to start singing for the Lord!" Miss Cissy declared. So ever since then, Whitney has been singing in the choir and was about to do her first solo.

"Great! I can't wait for you to come to practice tomorrow. You will like it. It's the most fun that I get to have besides when we play." As Whitney went on with the songs that we would be singing, and how I could probably be a tenor, I knew that my maybe had turned into definitely. I was now apart of The New Hope Baptist Church choir.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 8:

As promised I had up and joined the choir with Whitney that summer. Ms. Cissy was very pleased to know that I "wanted" to join, and to celebrate, she had me audition in front of the tenors. I chose to sing "This Little Light of Mine" and fortunately found out that I could actually half carry a tune and didn't have to embarrass myself more than already I was. Whitney jumped up to clap when I had made the all-exclusive praise team; her friends in the soprano and alto section giggled at her enthusiasm.

I had to admit, that being in choir wasn't half bad. I actually began to enjoy coming to practice and getting to know everyone at our church better. Plus, we got to travel to different places to sing, which was fun too. Although Whitney and I had fun goofing up with the other youth singers, we also knew when it was time to get to business because Ms. Cissy did not play when it came to practice. She made sure clear, strict directions and she expected everyone to follow them, or else, you would be called out by her. I thought she was particularly strict to Whitney because she was both her daughter and one of, if not, the best singers. Whitney would sometimes secretly complain to me that her mother was starting to get on her nerves about how she wanted her to "properly sing" "enunciate" and "know the melody" of a song. She told me that even at home, she would have her practice the songs we would sing in practice over and over again until she was satisfied about how they sounded. But as much as Whitney complained, she had to admit that the extra practice was helping her have a strong voice.

Finally one Sunday, it was time for Whitney to make her solo debut. Ms. Cissy could not make it because she had to perform out of town. But she made sure that Mr. Houston, Michael and Gary and her sisters were there to see their baby girl sing. My family was there, as they usually were. My mother had been happy that I had done some sort of extracurricular activity in the house of God. My father didn't seem to care either way; he really wanted me to start playing basketball in middle school, like my brother Brian (who was growing into a star player.)I really didn't want to play basketball, but I don't want to disappoint him any further. My brother, as usual, was ready to start snickering at me from behind a church fan for being up there in a choir robe. My little sister of course, just had to copy and giggle at me too.

Before we went out, Whitney came up to me and yanked me into a corner. "Cal, I'm so nervous. I don't know if I can do this." "Are you kidding me?" I asked, surprised. "Whit, you are more than ready. You've practiced for days and days on this. And you ain't horse." "But everyone is watching me." She whined. "What if I mess up or something? I'll disappoint my daddy and everyone else." I shook my head. I had no idea why all of sudden she was scared to perform, but I knew that she was expected to get the job done because wanted a full report. "You won't mess up, I promise." I told her. "Just imagine that they are all in their drawers or something." Whitney couldn't help but laugh a little. "I can't imagine them like that in church!" she told me. I humped my shoulders. "Well maybe you need to focus on something. Like look at the back wall clock or something while you sing, so you aren't looking at the audience." Whitney nodded like she was in deep thought. "I'll try I guess." She finally said.

Soon after, we lined up and went out the pews on the pulpit. After a couple A-selections, it was time for Whitney to step up and sing her solo. For someone to be nervous, she looked very confident, especially when she opened her mouth to sing. "_Guideeee Me Oooohhh Thou Great Jehoooohhhvvaahhh, feeeed meee till IIIII want noooo moooorrrraaahhh_" Everyone in the congregation was shocked to hear such a strong voice come out of a small girl and soon praise and worship began to fill the sanctuary. Whitney tore through that song and gave them all they wanted and more. After she finished, the church seem to light up. Tears were formed in both her and my family's eyes as they stood up and gave her a standing ovation. I even had to keep my emotions in check. Relieved, Whitney finally looked down from the clock and at the audience, her family and then back at me. I smiled and gave her the quick thumbs up sign for approval. Not that she needed it. I had the chance to listen to Whitney more now that I had joined the choir with her. But I really didn't know how truly talented she really was until that moment. My best friend had the gift of song and there was no denying it.

Now we only could wonder what she was gonna do with it.


End file.
